silver bells ~ Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla sollicitudin sem at purus posuere tincidunt. Cras mattis felis id nulla commodo et bibendum est feugiat. Their first date was nothing short of awkward--interceding stutters and pregnant pauses, hesitant whispers and shivering pulses--the constant reminder that reality is always everything but perfect. Donec vestibulum commodo pulvinar. Pellentesque mattis ligula vitae turpis vulputate ultricies. Days passed. Weeks flew by like a blur. The initial shyness faded away, replaced by something that could only be described as "more." Reluctance still lingered with every touch, a taste of something bitersweet that took them high into that great expanse, only to cruelly bind them back to the earth. They were almost there, almost at the peak, except it seemed as though they still lacked something. Proin accumsan erat nec purus aliquet laoreet. Duis tempor vulputate porta. Aliquam ut rutrum quam. Donec tempor risus ut ante vestibulum consectetur in eleifend turpis. Vestibulum feugiat purus in est tincidunt convallis hendrerit nisi aliquet. Little did they know that what they had endlessly searched for was right in front of them the entire time. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla sollicitudin sem at purus posuere tincidunt. "Oh, there you are." The sparking realization and the overwhelming feeling of stupidity that comes after. Cras mattis felis id nulla commodo et bibendum est feugiat. Donec vestibulum commodo pulvinar. Pellentesque mattis ligula vitae turpis vulputate ultricies. Proin accumsan erat nec purus aliquet laoreet. Duis tempor vulputate porta. Aliquam ut rutrum quam. Donec tempor risus ut ante vestibulum consectetur in eleifend turpis. Vestibulum feugiat purus in est tincidunt convallis hendrerit nisi aliquet. "Really, how could you have never noticed it before?"

...And then they fell in love. And then they became whole. Maybe escape was impossible. Maybe freedom was unattainable. One had the other, and that was enough. They didn't obtain perfection, but they had gained everything else that mattered.